Temporary use bowling shoe

ABSTRACT

A disposable shoe for short-term use on an indoor surface, such as a bowling lane, has a sole portion with a lower face for slidingly engaging the indoor surface. An upper portion is stitched to the sole portion opposite the lower face using a cotton thread. The upper portion incorporates an elasticized heel for a snug fit of the shoe on a user&#39;s foot. The shoe is substantially made of a biodegradable material for disposal in an environmentally manner.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to disposable footwear in general,and in particular to a disposable shoe for short-term use for indooractivities, such as bowling.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] By some estimates nearly 60 million people in the United Statesand over 100 million people in 90 countries worldwide bowl at least onegame per year. A good portion of these participants, namely “players” or“bowlers”, do not own their own bowling shoes, and so they must rentshoes when attending at the bowling alleys. From the bowlers'perspective, renting shoes that have been previously worn by numerousother players over time are undesireable for several reasons. Sharingfootwear is generally not hygienic, and the sanitary condition of rentalshoes in particular is often suspect. Shared shoes can transmit footdiseases between users, such as toe fungus, warts (e.g. VerrucaPlantaris) and “athlete's foot” infection. Further, rental shoes areoften tattered and fit uncomfortably.

[0003] From the perspective of bowling alley operators, maintenance andupkeep of rental shoe stock is time consuming and costly. Disinfectantsmust typically be sprayed into the shoes after each rental, resulting inthe annual use of millions of cans of polluting spray. The shoes must berepaired, requiring the purchase of glues, insoles, shoe laces, and thelike. Rental shoes are typically disposed and replaced every 2 years orso, at cost to the operator and the environment. Further, operators mustdeal with theft of rental shoes, some of whom incur the expense ofinstalling shoe tracking devices in an attempt to combat the problem.

[0004] Some solutions have been proposed. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,103(Colby) a disposable bowling shoe is proposed which appear to addresssome of the above-noted issues of rental shoes. However, the Colby shoesuffers from several disadvantages. It is provided to a user in severaldiscrete pieces which must be assembled with an array of pointed plastictabs, toothed tongues and strips of adhesive. Once assembled, the shoeis mounted on the user's foot and secured with straps and buckles. Theassembly of the shoe and its mounting to the user's foot is needlesslycomplex and time consuming, and the manufacture of the many intricatepieces of the shoe is needlessly involved and expensive. At leastportions of the shoe are made with durable materials, such as plastic,which are not biodegradable, and hence not environmentally friendly upondisposal.

[0005] In U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,443 (Pas et al.) a liner sock is proposedto be worn inside rental shoes. Although the sock addresses some of theearlier noted hygiene issues, the other drawbacks associated with use ofrental shoes remain.

[0006] What is therefore desired is a novel temporary or short-term usebowling shoe which overcomes the limitations and disadvantages of rentalbowling shoes and the above discussed prior art. Preferably, it shouldbe mountable on a user's foot without the need for complex assembly andadjustment, and should be capable of remaining on the foot without theuse of additional straps, buckles and the like. It should be of a verysimple, inexpensive construction, and be substantially made ofbiodegradable materials for disposal in a more environmentally friendlymanner than prior art bowling shoes. The shoe construction and materialsshould be durable enough to allow for use as a bowling shoe at leastduring one typical visit to a bowling alley, but yet temporary orfragile in nature so that the shoe deteriorates shortly thereafter toavoid its use as long term or “permanent” footwear. The shoe shouldprovide a sole capable of sliding along a bowling lane, and at least oneshoe surface adapted to display desired indicia, such as designs,advertisements, notices, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0007] In one aspect the invention provides a short-term use bowlingshoe having an upper portion stitched to a sole portion using cottonthread, an elasticized heel, and be substantially biodegradable toreduce or avoid pollution to the environment upon disposal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0008] Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0009]FIG. 1a is a plan view of a temporary use bowling shoe accordingto the present invention showing indicia thereon depicting typicalbowling shoe laces and design;

[0010]FIG. 1b is a side view of the shoe of FIG. 1a;

[0011]FIG. 1c is an end view of the heel of the shoe of FIG. 1a;

[0012]FIG. 2a shows a sole or bottom portion of the shoe of FIG. 1a;

[0013]FIG. 2b is a cross-section showing the layered construction of thesole of FIG. 2a;

[0014]FIG. 3a shows a cut-out pattern of the upper portion of the shoeof FIG. 1a (with a modified pattern of indicia) prior to assembly withthe sole of FIG. 2a; and,

[0015]FIG. 3b is a cross-section view showing the layered constructionof the upper portion of FIG. 3a.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0016] The figures show a temporary use bowling shoe (generallydesignated by reference numeral 10) according to the present invention,which may also be referred to as a short-term use or disposable shoe.The shoe 10 has a sole or lower portion 20 secured to an upper portion30. Construction or assembly of the shoe requires minimal cutting inthat only two material cut-out patterns are required for any given shoesize, namely a pattern for the sole shown in FIG. 2a and for the upperportion shown in FIG. 3a. The shoe is constructed by stitching theperipheral edge 32 of the upper portion to the peripheral edge 22 of thesole. The rear edges 34 of the upper portion should also then be joined,as by stitching, to in essence complete a basic version of the shoestructure.

[0017] In the preferred embodiment, several additional features areadded, namely an elasticized heel 50 and edging 36 made of cotton orother natural fiber(s) stitched to the inner periphery 35 of the upperportion to avoid premature fraying and for aesthetic purposes. Theelasticized heel 50 is typically added by omitting rear portions 33 (thecut-off edges being indicated by the dashed lines) of the upper pattern30 and by adding, as by stitching, an elasticized biodegradable materialin place. The elasticized heel provides a more snug (i.e. secure) andcomfortable fit about the back of the user's foot.

[0018] The stitching material should be one that wears out within adesired time so that the shoe is temporary in nature. In the preferredembodiment, a cotton thread is used since testing has shown that thepresent bowling shoe will withstand at least 8 hours of continuous use,which is more than adequate time for a player to finish a typical set ofbowling games during a single visit to a bowling alley. With further useof the shoe, say if the shoe is taken home from the bowling alley, thecotton threads then begin to wear out, resulting in eventual failure ofthe shoe, typically by the sole separating from the upper portion. Inthe preferred embodiment glue is not used in addition to the stitching,as in typical shoe constructions, to avoid prolonging the life of theshoe 10 beyond the desired time frame and to avoid needless additionalmanufacturing steps and expenses.

[0019] The shoe's upper portion 30 and sole 20 should be made ofbiodegradable materials for disposal in a more environmentally friendlymanner than prior art bowling shoes. Referring to FIG. 2b, the sole 20has a middle layer 24 of high density foam (about ⅛ inch, or about 3 mm,thick) sandwiched between upper and lower layers 26 and 28,respectively, of pressed paper, such as a bristle board. The upper layer26 is optional, and may be omitted so that a user's foot rests directlyon the comfortable foam layer 24. Manufacturing and materials costs arealso reduced. The bottom surface 29 of the lower layer 28 provides aslick or slippery surface on which the user can obtain the desired slide(akin to a traditional bowling shoe) on the bowling alley's playingsurface, which is typically polished wood.

[0020] Referring now to FIG. 3b, the upper portion 30 has a middle layer38 of natural foam rubber (about ⅛ inch, or about 3 mm, thick)sandwiched between outer and inner layers 40 and 42, respectively, of anon-woven cotton material. This form of the upper portion has been foundto provided adequate flexibility for a user to comfortably enter andremove the shoe, and enough foot support for bowling purposes. Inaddition, the outer layer 40 provides an outer surface 41 which iscapable of carrying various desired indicia, such as the lace design 44to make the shoe 10 resemble a contemporary bowling shoe. The outersurface 41 may simply be the surface of the non-woven cotton material,or may comprise a thin film of material placed over the outer layer 40.It will be appreciated that various designs and colors may be provided,allowing the shoe 10 to be decorated in a desired theme, to provideadvertising, notices, and the like. The indicia is preferably printed orplaced on the outer surface 41 prior to assembly of the shoe when theupper portion 30 is still flat, as shown in FIG. 3a. However, decals andother material may be added after assembly.

[0021] Some of the many advantages of the shoe 10 of the presentinvention may now be better appreciated.

[0022] The shoe is easy and inexpensive to manufacture, requiring onlytwo principle cutouts (FIGS. 2a & 3 a) and stitching to complete thebasic shoe structure.

[0023] The one piece shoe structure is merely slipped on and off theuser's foot without the need for complex assembly or adjustment by theuser or bowling alley operator.

[0024] The shoe 10 stays mounted on the user's foot without the need forstraps, buckles, shoe laces or the like. An elasticized heel provides acomfortable and secure fit about the back of the user's foot. The userneed only choose a size of shoe 10 comparable to the user s usual shoesize for proper fit.

[0025] All or substantially all of the shoe is made of biodegradablematerials for disposal in a more environmentally friendly manner thanprevious bowling shoes.

[0026] The shoe's construction and materials are durable enough to allowfor its use as a bowling shoe at least during one typical visit to abowling alley, but yet temporary in nature so that the shoe deterioratesshortly thereafter to avoid its use long term. In particular, the cottonstitching begins to wear out and gives after about 8 hours of use of theshoe.

[0027] An occasional bowler need not purchase expensive “permanent”, orcontemporary, bowling shoes, nor rent such shoes, but may simply buy apair of inexpensive temporary use shoes 10. This option is more hygienicthan wearing rentals, by avoiding transmission of foot diseases.

[0028] The shoe, although temporary, is still capable of sliding along abowling lane akin to contemporary bowling shoes, by having a slipperybottom surface 29.

[0029] The shoe's outer layer 40 is adapted to display desired indicia,such as designs, advertisements, notices, and the like, to provide abowling alley operator with an additional source of advertisement and/orincome stream. Optionally, the shoe's inner layer 42 and the sole'supper and lower layers 26, 28 may also be adapted to carry indicia.

[0030] The shoe 10 allows the operator to avoid the time and expense ofmaintaining a rental shoe stock, such as purchase of sprays, repairingthe shoes, replacing worn out and stolen shoes.

[0031] By reducing rental shoe stock, the shoe 10 should also reduce theamount of disinfectant sprays and other harmful chemicals released intothe environment, and the number of contemporary, less-biodegradablebowling shoes deposited into landfills.

[0032] The above description is intended in an illustrative rather thana restrictive sense, and variations to the specific configurationsdescribed may be apparent to skilled persons in adapting the presentinvention to other specific applications. Such variations are intendedto form part of the present invention insofar as they are within thespirit and scope of the claims below.

I claim:
 1. A temporary use bowling shoe for use on a bowling lanecomprising: a sole portion having a lower face for slidingly engagingsaid bowling lane; an upper portion stitched to said sole portionopposite said lower face using a cotton thread, said upper portionhaving an elasticized heel; wherein said sole portion and said upperportion are made of a substantially biodegradable material.